FRIEBURG TO MUNICH

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LOCATION: Right now Jos and I are in Munich in southern Germany at the home of Gerd Mischler who Sandra and I met in 1994 while travelling in Indonesia. This update covers the period between Frieburg, Germany near the Rhine River and the Swiss border, to Munich in south central Germany.
We left the Rhine River valley at Frieburg after travelling south for almost 800 kilometers and entered the Danube River valley at Donaueshegan and begun our eastward journey that will eventually end up in Budapest. After about 200 kilometres along the Danube, headed southeast toward Munich, leaving the Danube to make its way northeast. In another 10 days, after our visit to Munich, we too will travel northeast and rejoin the Danube. 

This is a typical evening meal, consisting of a leafy tuna salad, yogurt, fruit, olives, bread, cheese and wine. At the end of most days we search out a grocery store where we purchase our food for dinner and lunch the next day. We then eat in our room or in some convenient park.

This is the dreaded DETOUR sign. Keeping in the right direction and not getting lost has proven to be very important. Even though we have been following the Rhine River and now the Danube, it has been surprisingly easy to get lost as the bicycle trail leaves the river to avoid industrial zones, swampy areas, power plants, etc. These detours have added many hours and kilometres to our trip, especially in the Rhine north of Mainz which is less-frequently travelled.

Distance to date: 2,438 kilometres

Number of hours riding the bike: 107 hours and 7 minutes

Average speed: 15-18 Kilometres per hour, depending on the terrain and weather (expecially the wind)

Maximum speed: 54 Kilometres per hour

Although most of the bicycle paths are paved there are significant sections that are not. Some sections are gravel and some just dirt which deteriorates into mud after a rain.

Longest distance on any one day since leaving Amsterdam: 113 kilometres

Number of flat tires: 0

We took the train the 75 kilometres through the mountains of the Black Forest, from Frieburg to Donaueschegan, the source of the Danube (known here as the Donau). The climbs were just too difficult for our old Canadian legs. The Danube starts from this pool in the shadow of an old church in Donaueschegan.

The initial streatch of the Danube Cycleway or Danube Radweg is through rolling farmland. It was shortly after this that I developed a mechanical problem in my gear-shifting mechanism that left me with only 2 gears on the back. After a delay of a day trying to get it fixed, we soldiered on because the part had to be ordered and would not arrive for yet another day. At least the lower gears were usable and we figured we could make it to Munich on those gears. Once in Munich, where we planned to spend a few days we would arrange to have the bike fixed.

Although the number of castles is not as great on this section of the trip, occasionally one shows up. Here Jos enjoys lunch beside an unnamed (to us) castle or schloss.

A line of middle-aged German cyclists crossing the Danube River. Groups of retired cyclists are common along the relatively flat stretches of the Rhine and Danube Rivers.

SCHEDULE: On arrival in Munich we were one day behind our schedule. We will stay one less day here before heading back to the Danube.

During the next few days we will visit some of the castles of King Ludwig II of Bavaria and the memorial at the Dachau concentration camp. Those visits promise some extremes of emotion that I will describe in the next update in about 10 days (the end of June).